Essex Police urge residents to only call 999 in an emergency

In the last six months, Essex Police call handlers have received numerous calls from a variety of different people who have found themselves in non-urgent situations.

One man, in Southend, complained about being asked to leave a pub, while a girl dialled 999 after apparently being unable to find her way out of some stinging nettles.

The force also received a call from a man who asked for a lift because he had missed his bus and another man who kept calling asking for a pizza before hanging up.

Essex Police’s Force Control Room team which deals with the calls operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and boasts about 270 staff who log thousands of incidents.

Over the August bank holiday weekend, for example, they answered a total of 3,176 calls through the emergency 999 line and 1,885 calls through 101.

Chief Inspector Ian Gennery, who leads the FCR team, says although the vast majority of the public only call 999 in an emergency, there are others who misuse the system.

He has stressed his staff would never disconnect a call without offering advice, but there are a worrying number of calls that aren’t emergencies. 

He said: “People need to ask themselves whether their situation is truly an emergency and whether a police response is needed as quickly as possible. 

“Recently we had a situation on the M11 where someone was asking for a police escort because they were late home for dinner.

“Do we really need to be directing officers and resources away from a domestic incident or a serious collision to come and help you? 

“If it doesn’t, there are a lot of other methods you can use, and there are lots of resources to look at on our website.”

Lauren Simmons is a communications officer in the FCR team and has been answering 999 calls for three years but gets frustrated when the system is abused.

She said: “Timewasters have no regard for anyone else and everyone knows that you don’t call 999 for a taxi or a pizza - it’s common sense.

“I took a hoax call from teenagers in Pitsea who said that there were a group of individuals running around with weapons.

“We sent officers urgently to search the location because obviously we have to treat these calls as genuine, but it was such a waste of resources.

“I also had someone call me because they couldn’t get their boyfriend home because he was too drunk.

“When I politely said that unfortunately this wasn’t something the police could help with, I was verbally abused.”

Despite this, Laurens says she enjoys helping people genuinely in need and believes her calm nature and ability to handle conflict helps her deal with difficult calls.

“We talk to people who might be experiencing the worst day of their lives, I try to reassure them and let them know that help is coming,” she added.

“It can be distressing to listen to someone who is very upset and sometimes you can hear things you don’t want to hear, like people being attacked.

“Luckily calls this severe are few and far between but it can be gruelling, but one call always sticks in my mind.

“I was being tutored and fairly new to the job when a woman disclosed a rape to me and described the things that had been done to her - I’ll never forget it.

“Sometimes you have to step out of the room and decompress for a few minutes.”

To report information to Essex Police call 101 to speak to someone over the phone or submit an online report or use the live chat by visiting essex.police.uk.

If you do need police urgently, and you’re in trouble and need help, call 999, but if you’re unsure if your report relates to a policing matter visit askthe.police.uk.